There is a massive amount of convenience when shopping online these days. In fact, it’s the very way that most of us live our lives. Businesses understand this and have slowly adapted.

Fast food restaurants have apps where you can order on your phone rather than exclusively at the counter. Clothing stores and grocery stores are creeping online. Allowing you to place orders and they either deliver it to your door or you can pick it up when you get there.

How we shop has changed entirely, but whenever online becomes a factor, security and protecting your personal information becomes a factor too. After all, there is still a cost to this convenience.

A system could be compromised, and hackers can get access to credit card numbers or banking information. And that’s the last thing that you want.

In order to protect yourself, make sure you keep the following in mind:

Ensure that the retailer you are shopping with is legitimate. Think back to Dollar Store merchandise where they sell seemingly similar products but have knock off brands and subtle differences to the logos. On websites look at the name and the logo and do some extra research if it’s place you’re not familiar with.

Check to see if the site is secure. Using Google Chrome can help.  In recent years, sites that don’t have https in their web address will be flagged as a not secure site. Secure sites will have a lock symbol. What https means is essentially that your connection to the website is encrypted and it’s tougher for hackers to sniff your info.

Be familiar with your rights and the company’s return policies. You don’t need to read the entirety of the terms and conditions but generally should know what the company does with returned products if you purchase any. A lack of information in this area is bad for a business.

Have recent virus protection and a different strong password for your accounts. The easier the password is, the easier it is to crack it. Make sure that your passwords are solid and something only you know. Not to mention checking your virus protection is up to snuff.

Never use public Wi-Fi unless you are using a VPN. Wireless connections aren’t secure and hackers can and will attack it.

Use alternative methods to pay like a secondary credit card or PayPal. While getting that information can still spell trouble it’s not as bad as a hacker getting access to your main credit card or bank account.

Keep these in mind while you shop and you should much safer.